Introduction to definiteness in Ayoreo (Zamucoan)
Authors
-
Santiago Durante
Laboratorio de Investigación y Desarrollo en Linguística (Universidad Nacional de Hurlingham) - Instituto Multidisciplinario de Historia y Ciencias Humanas (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas)
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0919-8183
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36312/ijlic.v4i2.4946Keywords:
ayoreo, zamucoan, definiteness, Discursive Anchorage, ArticlesAbstract
Ayoreo, a Zamucoan language of the Gran Chaco, lacks a formal word class for articles, presenting a significant challenge for understanding how universal functional domains of reference are realized in languages with limited descriptions. This research addresses a notable lacuna in the literature regarding a systematic analysis of the grammatical encoding of definiteness in Ayoreo. The primary objective is to characterize the diverse morphosyntactic and discursive mechanisms—including nominal suffixes, possessive prefixes, and demonstratives—that manage identifiability, familiarity, and uniqueness. Employing a mixed onomasiological and semasiological approach, the study analyzes a first-hand corpus collected between 2011 and 2022, supplemented by secondary sources and controlled elicitation. Previous studies reveal a specialized triple nominal marking system: the "full form" serves as the primary vehicle for definite reference, while the "indeterminate form" marks referential but non-specific entities. Additionally, a complex three-degree demonstrative system and possessive prefixes provide essential situational, anaphoric, and associative anchoring. Semantic mapping confirms that proper names and personal pronouns inherently encode uniqueness and familiarity. The study shows that although Ayoreo lacks independent articles, its robust suffixal and pronominal strategies satisfy cross-linguistic criteria for article-like functions. These results contribute essential data to the description of Chaco languages and facilitate broader typological comparisons of referential systems, suggesting that definiteness can be effectively realized through fusional morphology rather than independent word classes.
References
Aikhenvald, A. Y., & Dixon, R. M. W. (2013). Possession and Ownership: A Cross-Linguistic Typology. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199660223.001.0001
Bartolomé, M. (2000). El encuentro de la gente y los insensatos: La sedentarización de los cazadores Ayoreo en el Paraguay. Biblioteca Paraguaya de Antropología.
Bechert, J. (1993). Definiteness and Article Systems (EUROTYP Working Papers, vol. 1). European Science Foundation.
Becker, L. (2021). Articles in the World’s Languages. De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110731033
Bertinetto, P. M. (2009). Ayoreo (Zamuco): A Grammatical Sketch. Quaderni Del Laboratorio Di Linguistica, 8, 1–59.
Bertinetto, P. M., Ciucci, L., & Farina, M. (2019). Two Types of Morphologically Expressed Non-Verbal Predication. Studies in Language, 43(1), 120–194. https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.17066.ber
Bisle-Müller, H. (1991). Artikelwörter im Deutschen. Niemeyer. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111355443
Blank, A. (2001). Words and Concepts in Time: Towards Diachronic Cognitive Onomasiology. De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110821413
Christophersen, P. (1939). The Articles: A Study of Their Theory and Use in English. Munksgaard.
Ciucci, L. (2016). Inflectional Morphology in the Zamucoan Languages (Vol. 103). Centro de Estudios Antropológicos de la Universidad Católica (CEADUC).
Ciucci, L. (2019). A Culture of Secrecy: The Hidden Narratives of the Ayoreo. International Journal of Language and Culture, 6(1), 175–194. https://doi.org/10.1075/ijlc.00016.ciu
Ciucci, L. (2020). Wordhood in Chamacoco. In A. Y. Aikhenvald, R. M. W. Dixon, & N. M. White (Eds.), Phonological Word and Grammatical Word: A Cross-Linguistic Typology (pp. 78–120). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198851219.003.0004
Ciucci, L. (2021a). How Grammar and Culture Interact in Zamucoan. In A. Y. Aikhenvald, R. M. W. Dixon, & N. Jarkey (Eds.), The Integration of Language and Society: A Cross-Linguistic Typology (pp. 235–287). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192895691.003.0009
Ciucci, L. (2021b). How Historical Data Complement Fieldwork: New Diachronic Perspectives on Zamucoan Verb Inflection. Studia Linguistica, 75(2), 289–327. https://doi.org/10.1111/stul.12166
Ciucci, L., & Bertinetto, P. M. (2019). Possessive Classifiers in Zamucoan. In A. Y. Aikhenvald & E. I. Mihas (Eds.), Genders and Classifiers: A Cross-Linguistic Typology (pp. 144–175). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198839071.003.0007
Croft, W. (2016). Comparative Concepts and Language-Specific Categories: Theory and Practice. Linguistic Typology, 20(2), 377–393. https://doi.org/10.1515/lingty-2016-0012
Diessel, H. (1999). Demonstratives: Form, Function and Grammaticalization. John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.42
Durante, S. (2018). La lengua ayoreo (familia zamuco), de la sintaxis al discurso: Documentación y descripción de una lengua en peligro [Tesis doctoral, Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA)]. http://repositorio.filo.uba.ar/handle/filodigital/11442
Ebert, K. H. (1970). Referenz, Sprechsituation und die bestimmten Artikel in einem nordfriesischen Dialekt. Nordfriisk Instituut.
Fabre, A. (2007). Morfosintaxis de los clasificadores posesivos en las lenguas del Gran Chaco (Argentina, Bolivia y Paraguay). UniverSOS, (4), 67–85.
Fillmore, C. J. (1982). Towards a Descriptive Framework for Spatial Deixis. In R. J. Jarvella & W. Klein (Eds.), Speech, Place and Action (pp. 31–59). John Wiley.
Gamillscheg, E. (1937). Zum romanischen Artikel und Possessivpronomen. In Ausgewählte Aufsätze von Ernst Gamillscheg. Wilhelm Gronau.
Geeraerts, D. (2010). Theories of Lexical Semantics. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198700302.001.0001
Givón, T. (1981). On the Development of the Numeral ‘One’ as an Indefinite Article. Folia Linguistica Historica, 2, 35–53. https://doi.org/10.1515/flih.1981.2.1.35
Grzega, J. (2002). Bezeichnungswandel: Wie, Warum, Wozu? Winter.
Hartmann, D. (1982). Deixis and Anaphora in German Dialects: The Semantics and Pragmatics of Two Definite Articles in Dialectal Varieties. In J. Weissenborn & W. Klein (Eds.), Here and There (pp. 187–207). John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.2.12har
Haspelmath, M. (1999). Explaining Article-Possessor Complementarity: Economic Motivation in Noun Phrase Syntax. Language, 75(2), 227–243. https://doi.org/10.1353/lan.1999.0033
Hawkins, J. A. (1991). On (In)definite Articles: Implicatures and (Un)grammaticality Prediction. Journal of Linguistics, 27, 405–422. https://doi.org/10.1017/S002222670001258X
Heinrichs, H. M. (1955). Studien zum bestimmten Artikel in den germanischen Sprachen. W. Schmitz.
Helmbrecht, J., & Vidal, A. (2019). Determination and the Expression of Definiteness in Some Indigenous Languages of North and South America. DAAD-CONICET Project. RESOL-2022-2320-APN-DIR#CONICET
Himmelmann, N. P. (1996). Demonstratives in Narrative Discourse: A Taxonomy of Universal Uses. In B. Fox (Ed.), Studies in Anaphora (pp. 203–252). John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.33.09him
Himmelmann, N. P. (2001). Articles. In M. Haspelmath, E. König, W. Oesterreicher, & W. Raible (Eds.), Language Typology and Language Universals: An International Handbook (Vol. 2) (pp. 831–841). De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110194265-014
Instituto Nacional de Estadística [INE]. (2022). Resultados Finales—Censo 2022. INE Paraguay. https://www.ine.gov.py/censo2022/
Instituto Nacional de Estadística [INE]. (2024). Censo de Población y Vivienda 2024. INE Bolivia. https://cpv2024.ine.gob.bo/
Kibrik, A. (2011). Reference in Discourse. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199214716.001.0001
Koch, P. (2012). Lexical Typology from a Cognitive and Linguistic Point of View. In J. R. Taylor (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Word (pp. 382–404). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199544004.013.0018
König, E. (2018). Definite Articles and Their Uses. In D. Olmen, T. Mortelmans, & F. Brisard (Eds.), Aspects of Linguistic Variation (pp. 165–184). De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110493115-008
Krasnoukhova, O. V. (2012). The noun phrase in the languages of South America. LOT.
Lehmann, C. (n.d.). LiDo: Entry “Determination.” Retrieved http://linguistik.uni-regensburg.de:8080/lido/Lido
Lehmann, C. (2015a). Thoughts on grammaticalization. Language Science Press. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7520796
Lehmann, C. (2015b). Referenz im Diskurs – Theoretische und methodische Ansätze. In G. Wirsching (Ed.), Elektronische Sprachsignalverarbeitung. Tagungsband der 26. Konferenz (pp. 31–49). TUDpress.
Lehmann, C. (2020). Linguistic Universals and Language Variation. De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110611502
Louagie, D., & Verstraete, J.-C. (2015). Personal Pronouns with Determining Functions in Australian Languages. Studies in Language, 39(1), 159–198. https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.39.1.05lou
Lovera, M., Kang, J., Alarcón, M., & de la Cruz, L. (2016). The Situation of the Isolated Ayoreo in Bolivia and in the Cross-Border Areas with Paraguay [Report 2016]. Amotocodie Initiative.
Lyons, C. (1999). Definiteness. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780521607520
Morarie, M. E. (2006). Simplified Ayoreo Grammar. Publicaciones Nueva Vida.
Moseley, C., & Nicolas, A. (Eds.). (2010). Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger (3rd ed.). UNESCO.
Plank, F. (1992). Possessives and the Distinction Between Determiners and Modifiers (With Special Reference to German). Journal of Linguistics, 28, 453–468. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022226700011159
Traugott, E. C., & Dasher, R. B. (2002). Regularity in Semantic Change. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511486500
Wright, S., & Givón, T. (1987). The Pragmatics of Indefinite Reference: Quantified Text-Based Studies. Studies in Language, 11(1), 1–33. https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.11.1.02wri
Zanardini, J. (1994). Beyori ga yicatecacori: Ayoreo—Español. Editorial Don Bosco.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Santiago Durante
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with the International Journal of Linguistics and Indigenous Culture (IJLIC) agree to the following terms:
- For all articles published in International Journal of Linguistics and Indigenous Culture (IJLIC), copyright is retained by the authors. Authors give permission to the publisher to announce the work with conditions. When the manuscript is accepted for publication, the authors agree to implement a non-exclusive transfer of publishing rights to the journals.
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
